Day 1 Analysis: NFL Draft
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:13 am
#9 overall: Keith Rivers, OLB, USC
I saw Rivers play in person this season and I thought he was the best of USC's linebackers; at least, the most complete. Scouts backed up my initial assumptions although I wish I could've been more thorough.
It seems like Rivers is just as comfortable in coverage as in rushing, and he has the range requisite for a Pro Bowl-caliber NFL linebacker.
#46 overall: Jerome Simpson, WR, Coastal Carolina
Surprise! Obviously, the team wasn't quite content with Glenn Holt, Antonio Chatman and Marcus Maxwell vying for the No. 3 WR spot...that assumes, of course, that Chad Johnson would remain with the team.
I thought Simpson would be an ideal pick in the third round, but I have no qualms about him going where he went. He screams athletic and he put up great numbers against small competition; obviously, pro scouts thought highly enough of his ability to make the transition to the pro game that he'd been firmly slotted in the first three rounds for weeks.
Day 1 Grade: A-
Tough pill to swallow with New Orleans' acquisition of Sedrick Ellis, and Simpson is a little bit of a reach, but the Bengals filled two obvious needs in a big-time way and you cannot ask for much more.
The rest of the draft
In the third round, I would ideally like to see two of the following three players come off the board: Tashard Choice, Dan Connor and Dre Moore. I feel like all three of these guys have the stuff it takes to help the defense (in Choice's case, the running game). Domata Peko (a fourth-rounder himself) could use a friend in the middle with him.
In the final rounds, I would love to see some interior line help as well as a cornerback and maybe a project linebacker. A guy I've had my eye on is Bruce Davis, a terror at UCLA at defensive end who projects to OLB in the NFL. He has a ways to go, but I would be very happy to see Davis in stripes in the fourth or fifth rounds.
I saw Rivers play in person this season and I thought he was the best of USC's linebackers; at least, the most complete. Scouts backed up my initial assumptions although I wish I could've been more thorough.
It seems like Rivers is just as comfortable in coverage as in rushing, and he has the range requisite for a Pro Bowl-caliber NFL linebacker.
#46 overall: Jerome Simpson, WR, Coastal Carolina
Surprise! Obviously, the team wasn't quite content with Glenn Holt, Antonio Chatman and Marcus Maxwell vying for the No. 3 WR spot...that assumes, of course, that Chad Johnson would remain with the team.
I thought Simpson would be an ideal pick in the third round, but I have no qualms about him going where he went. He screams athletic and he put up great numbers against small competition; obviously, pro scouts thought highly enough of his ability to make the transition to the pro game that he'd been firmly slotted in the first three rounds for weeks.
Day 1 Grade: A-
Tough pill to swallow with New Orleans' acquisition of Sedrick Ellis, and Simpson is a little bit of a reach, but the Bengals filled two obvious needs in a big-time way and you cannot ask for much more.
The rest of the draft
In the third round, I would ideally like to see two of the following three players come off the board: Tashard Choice, Dan Connor and Dre Moore. I feel like all three of these guys have the stuff it takes to help the defense (in Choice's case, the running game). Domata Peko (a fourth-rounder himself) could use a friend in the middle with him.
In the final rounds, I would love to see some interior line help as well as a cornerback and maybe a project linebacker. A guy I've had my eye on is Bruce Davis, a terror at UCLA at defensive end who projects to OLB in the NFL. He has a ways to go, but I would be very happy to see Davis in stripes in the fourth or fifth rounds.